


and all along the way i'll find you

by alethea



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boys In Love, Fluff, M/M, Medieval Fair, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 08:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6747373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alethea/pseuds/alethea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was always going to be them.</p>
<p>
  <em>Or: Hux is the heir to an estate and medieval fair with a highly coveted knights' tournament.<br/>Ben fights, like his grandfather before him.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	and all along the way i'll find you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HolleringHawk65](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolleringHawk65/gifts).



> dear HolleringHawk65 - please accept my humble pinchhit offer!  
> Your prompt was quite open so I went with the bit you'll find below. Enjoy!
> 
> Many thanks and chocolate chip cookies to my darling L for beta-reading! Again!
> 
> Title from Matt Corby's _Lay You Down_
> 
> A few notes:  
> \- Hux is called Brewis because of reasons and Treadaway's character in Attack The Block  
> \- Hux and Solo are the youngest of the whole bunch by a few years  
> \- everyone pretty much gets along  
> \- there are dogs (two)  
> \- very fluffy

“‘That all you got?!” Poe’s laughing, expertly sidestepping Ben’s too wide swing. “You getting tired already?”  
  
“Shut up!” Ben snaps because he is tired. He doesn’t have to fake the stumble in his next step, the ground uneven and unfamiliar beneath his feet. His next attacks are parried with ease because this is Poe and he could probably run through their fight sequence with his eyes closed.  
  
The moment Poe loses his footing and drops his defense is calculated and will make their audience gasp and cheer for their knight all the louder. Ben’s sword is as close as it’ll ever get to Poe’s heart but since it’ll always be about good defeating evil and Poe’s aim is true the dagger hits him right in the thigh, making Ben drop his sword and fall to his knees. Defeat.  
  
“Well done.” Poe says, brushing himself off and offering Ben a hand up. “Again?”  
  
“Yeah.” Ben says with a grimace, returning the dagger to its rightful owner and retrieving his sword. “With full armour tomorrow?”  
  
“With full armour tomorrow.” Poe says and takes his position a few steps away from Ben. “He’s watching.”  
  
“I know.” Ben lies because it’d be just stupid to let Poe think that he caught Ben unaware.  
  
Poe grins. “No, you didn’t.”  
  
Ben launches his attack, swinging and twisting. “It’s not--”  
  
“Not like I haven’t seen you declare that you’ll marry him?” Poe’s laughing again which he shouldn’t because they’re both out of breath and Ben is gaining ground, forcing him back.  
  
“I was five!”  
  
“I know!” Poe says, louder this time, as their swords crash together. “It was the cutest thing ever.”  
  
Ben knows because the are pictures of the two of them at five; Ben with a tiny wooden broadsword strapped to his hip, and holding the hand of Brewis tightly. “Shut up!”  
  
Poe laughs again, loud and happy.  
  
*  
  
It’s about time for supper when they finally finish their practice, walking up to the main house in silence.  
  
However, Poe being who he is, can’t stop bumping against Ben’s side when they come close to where Brewis is standing with Phasma, deep in conversation. Which is why Poe drags Phasma away towards the stables without a word, and Phasma follows him without so much as a token protest.  
  
“You look good.” Brewis says, smiling softly.  
  
Ben draws him in, ignoring Brewis and his squawk at Ben’s sweaty hug. “I missed you.”  
  
Brewis sighs into the crook of Ben’s neck before stepping back. “I missed you too.”  
  
“Everything alright?”  
  
Brewis shrugs, exhales noisily. “There’s a lot to do.”  
  
“How’s your grandfather?”  
  
“Fussing over grandma, annoying the dogs.” Brewis huffs. “He tries to help as much as he can, but he’s worried about her above all.”  
  
Ben can only nod in understanding. “How are you?”  
  
“Mostly tired?” Brewis says after a moment. “In a way I am glad we’re only doing this every two years.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Come on, food’s ready.”  
  
  
After supper Ben wanders back to the stables to see if there’s something else he can help with. He’s tired but too excited to sleep and there’s always work to be found in the days before the tournament.  
Poe’s with his mare Giselle, of course, a pretty grey thing with more charm than Poe himself. He’s feeding her carrots and talking gently to her so Ben leaves him be and heads to the old annexe to have a look at the full armour he’ll be wearing.  
  
There’s laughter from the main house; a lot of people stayed behind in the large kitchen to catch up and enjoy their first night at the estate before the madness of the fair starts for real.  
  
The armoury is empty and Ben has time to really look at all the assorted weaponry and framed and fading photographs adorning the walls. He finds his grandfather easily; the Black Knight a fixture of each tournament.  
  
“You’re the youngest ever, you know.” Brewis says from behind him.  
  
Ben shrugs because he’s been training hard for the last years to be able to pick up the mantle. “I know.”  
  
“I was so proud,” Brewis says, “When they chose you.”  
  
Ben’s face is on fire. He shuffles around for a bit and then the best course of action seems to be walking because he needs air. Brewis follows, but not without a sharp whistle followed by the patter of paws against gravel.  
  
“They need to get out of the house.”  
  
“It’s okay.” Ben says and strokes Jupiter’s head when it is pushed under his hand. “She still doesn’t like me?”  
  
“Vesta doesn’t like anyone, you know that.”  
  
Ben doesn’t say anything about how Vesta is all but glued to Brewis whenever she’s not keeping a watchful eye over Lady Anne. “Yeah.”  
  
“Are you nervous?”  
  
“Terrified.” Ben says because there’s no use in lying. It’s the first time he’ll take a major role in the tournament and of course he’s afraid that he’ll fuck it up.  
  
“We’re sold out for all three nights.” Brewis says once they’ve reached the edge of the arena.  
  
“That’s not helping.” Ben says, swallows against the mounting tightness in his chest. He focuses on Jupiter instead of thinking about a full arena and fighting by torchlight. His grandparents and everyone else had made noises about watching his debut.  
At least Poe knows how to make anything look good, so even if Ben’s screws up--  
  
“You won’t.” Brewis says. “You won’t.”  
  
Ben closes his eyes, tries to imagine how it’ll look in a few days when he’ll be in the middle of it all. He’s been a part of it all in one way or the other since he was old enough to tell one end of a sword from the other but it’s different when you’re actually fighting. He has big shoes to fill, he knows.  
  
“You’ll be fine.”  
  
*  
  
Ben’s still sore after a perfunctory shower but he feels clean again, so that’s a good thing. Training in full armour tomorrow won’t be easy on him but he hopes he’ll be used to the strain by Friday. He tapes his knee carefully and then gets into bed with the book he picked up earlier from the library. Brewis had granted him full use of it years ago but Ben usually comes back to his favourite series. At this point he can open any of the books and just start reading; he knows them all by heart.  
He’s not surprised when Brewis walks in without knocking, quietly closing the door behind him. Brewis carries his own book and makes himself comfortable on the other side of the bed.  
There’s no actual reason to sneak around, it’s not like anyone cares anymore that Ben and Brewis sleep in the same bed and have done so for years.

_[Ben’s uncle had given him the talk a few years back, and so did Poe but Ben fares better not thinking about it, and it is clear as day that all of them are supportive and just waiting for ‘it’ to happen. Which hasn’t happened yet, because sleeping in the same bed is all they do. No matter what Poe seems to think._  
_Phasma had caught them kissing, once, when Brewis just wanted the whole first kiss thing to be over and done with but nothing has happened since then. It wasn’t a very good first kiss.]_  
  
Brewis twists the book Ben’s holding to look at the title. “Again?”  
  
Ben shrugs, running his fingertips over the lettering on the cover. “It’s not like I can ask--”  
  
“If she wasn’t ill you’d be pestering her!” Brewis says, rolling his eyes at Ben.  
  
“You’ve read _Red Sword_!” Ben argues because he wouldn’t pester Lady Anne about what happens next. Maybe a little. “The implications of Brendol acting against orders! All I need to know--”  
  
“If he goes back for Kylo.” Brewis groans pitifully. “I know. I know you adore him, though I can’t understand why.”  
  
“You just don’t get it.” Ben says easily. They’ve had this particular argument since the book was published.  
  
Brewis opens his own book and starts reading; ignoring everything else Ben might have to say which is a tried and tested tactic of his but only until he thinks Ben has been appropriately punished with his icy silence.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Nothing.”  
  
Ben snorts and puts the book away. “What?”  
  
“Are you-- don’t you--”  
  
“Brewis, seriously.”  
  
Brewis fidgets for a moment and then turns to switch off the lights. “Goodnight.”  
  
“Goodnight.” Ben whispers into the darkness, knowing that’ll only take a minute for Brewis to start talking now.  
  
“Ben?”  
  
Brewis is close, very close. Ben could lean forward and just. “Mmh?”  
  
“It’s good to have you back.”  
  
Ben would stay forever if Brewis would ask him to.

  
*  
  
They’re putting on their full gear for the first time when Poe attacks which Ben had been prepared for, in a way. Poe had been holding back during breakfast and only stared at Ben for longer than necessary.  
  
“Really?” Poe asks, disappointment obvious. “What are you waiting for?”  
  
“He’s my best friend.” Ben says because it is true.  
  
“So what?”  
  
“It’s not like you and Finn.”  
  
“It could be.” Poe gets the dreamy, far away look in his eyes whenever Finn comes up.  
  
Ben sighs. “He’s my best friend--”  
  
“You’ve been dancing around this for years now. You’re both adults. I know you’ve tried the whole relationship thing with-- what’s his name?”  
  
“It didn’t matter.” Ben focuses on adjusting the straps his shin guards like he should. He feels clumsy in the heavy chainmail and they are not even close to reaching the grounds yet.  
Phasma threatened him with eyeliner to complete his evil looks, whatever that means, but Ben had claimed allergies and hoped for the best.  
  
“I’m on your side.” Poe says. “We all are.”  
  
“I know.” Ben says slowly. “He’s--”  
  
“I get it.” Poe says and that’s it.  
  
  
They train until Ben’s lungs are burning and his body aches from it and somehow Poe’s still laughing, managing to rile him up with the same things that worked when Ben was eight and pestering Poe into teaching him the basic footwork when uncle Luke and his grandpa were busy.  
  
Brewis doesn’t come to watch this time; he’s too involved in the tournament organization, and was shouting into one of his mobiles about hog roasts and roasting certain people alive when Ben had last seen him.  
  
*  
  
Ben’s washing the pots and pans that wouldn’t fit into the dishwasher in the sink when Brewis walks in a starts searching the cupboards at random.  
  
“What did you do?” Brewis asks after retrieving a tin of tea from the depths.  
  
“Nothing.” Ben says. It would have been Poe’s turn but Finn finally arrived earlier and Ben doesn’t dare to separate the two of them just yet. “Long day?”  
  
“Long year.” Brewis sighs, exhaling heavily. He steps behind Ben then, arms coming around his waist, pressing his head against Ben’s shoulders. “But it’s okay.”  
  
Ben doesn’t move much after, his fingers are pruney and the water’s getting cold but it doesn’t really matter. It’s really okay.  
  
*  
  
The ice-pack strapped to Ben’s shoulder is dripping onto the floor, and Ben’s sore and bruised and yet.  
He doesn’t want to think about how it went, can’t, won’t. There lies madness and a night spent wandering the hallways of the estate and staring at photographs and paintings. His feet are cold but walking is better than being still.  
  
The first sign he’s probably making a fuss and not as silent as he thought is Jupiter trotting towards him, looking at Ben with his most pleading eyes.  
  
“What are you doing up?”  
  
“I could ask you the same.” Brewis says, scratching the side of his jaw. His hair’s a disaster and there are pillow marks all over his face. “Ben, come on--”  
  
“Alright.” Ben nods too quickly to look like a sane person. “It’s probably time.”  
  
Brewis looks at him for a long moment. “Yeah, it is.”  
  
Ben holds out his hand and Brewis takes it, interlacing their fingers.  
  
*

It’s Finn who finds out first, completely by accident.

He grants them a twenty-four hour grace period before telling Poe.  
And warns them that there will be champagne.

**Author's Note:**

> And now, have some backstory:
> 
> \- Hux was raised by his grandparents  
> \- Ben named his evil knight character after his favourite character in the books by Lady Anne  
> \- Lady Anne is the author of a successful high fantasy series called The Black Empire  
> \- Lady Anne is also Leia's godmother, Obi-Wan is Luke's godfather  
> \- Phasma manages the estate like a boss  
> \- Poe and Finn have their shit together, and Poe was definitely the weird horsegirl at school  
> \- Poe is really good at jousting
> 
> You've made it!


End file.
